The present invention relates to a high-mounted brake lamp and, more particularly, to a high-mounted brake lamp which can be easily and quickly installed in a vehicle prior to the installation of the vehicle's rear window and without the need for installation tools.
In the manufacture of motor vehicles, means are continually sought to improve the speed and reliability of their manufacture. The installation of high-mounted brake lamps in motor vehicles poses a unique problem due to their positioning on the rear or package tray at the junction of the package tray and rear window. Due to the close proximity of the rear window and package tray, little room is left for the assembly worker to install the brake lamp. It is difficult to simultaneously maneuver the lamp and the requisite installation tools into proper installation position to install the brake lamp. Such conditions slow the installation process and may result in improper installation of the brake lamp and/or damage to the rear window. These problems are exacerbated by the current designs of modern vehicles which call for a more steeply sloped rear window which, in turn, increases the acuteness of the angle between the rear window and the package shelf, thereby further decreasing the already limited space available to install the brake lamp.
As is known, it is desirable that light emitted from high-mounted brake lamps not be permitted to escape from the lamp housing and enter the interior of the vehicle. The easiest and most conventional way to ensure that light does not escape from high-mounted brake lamps is to provide a light shield on such lamps and install the lamps with the light shield secured firmly against the rear window. In this manner, substantially all of the light emitted from the brake lamp will be directed through the rear window and almost none will leak into the interior of the vehicle. Heretofore, if the high-mounted brake lamp were installed prior to installation of the rear window, it would be difficult to ensure that the light shield portion of the lamp was always secured firmly against the rear window due to the tolerances which exist in the positioning of the rear window with respect to the package tray.
Accordingly, it is seen that a need exists in the art for a high-mounted brake lamp with a light shield which can be easily installed in a vehicle and which can be quickly adjusted, without the need for installation tools, to ensure that the light shield is firmly secured against the rear window after the rear window has been installed.